Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gutted the existing CDC Vaccine Advisory panel, replacing existing experts with anti-vaxxers and conspiracists. MSNBC Public Health Analyst Dr. Irwin Redlener says “the actions that they are doing under his direction are undermining,

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and its eight new members, met for the first time Thursday after Health and Humans Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced a “clean sweep” of the panel earlier this month.

The preservative thimerosal has been removed from all but a few vaccines, and studies have confirmed no link to neurodevelopmental issues including autism. So public health experts were puzzled when it appeared on the agenda for this week’s meeting of outside vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.